Meet Our Senior StaffInterview
Introducing our senior staff
Interview 01
Motohashi
Motohashi
Joined company in 2012
An ideal job for those who love chemistry experiments
I’ve enjoyed doing experiments since I was a student, so I was thinking to look for a job related to synthesis of chemical substances. The professor from my laboratory introduced Azuma to me during that time. Synthesizing various kinds of chemicals according to customer requests and doing refinement is an ideal job for someone like me who loves experiments.
From laboratory to factory, from test materials to products.
I am currently in charge of scaling up the synthesis of chemicals, enabling successful chemical reactions at laboratory scale (100ml ~ 3L) to be able to be manufactured in Manufacturing Team 3 (30L ~ 200L). Although the chemical reactions went well in the laboratory, problems could arise as the quantity increases. So I have to increase the quantity little by little, identify the problems and risks, and solve them one by one. To someone who likes experiments, it is very interesting to see the chemical reactions in the huge pots.
Careful checks, more chemical reactions.
During chemical reactions, it is common that one mistake results in irreversible consequences. So in my work, I check the operation sequences and reagent quantities very carefully one by one. I have accumulated experience in various kinds of chemical reactions since joining the company. I would like to try more chemical reactions and reach for a higher level of knowledge.
Interview 02
Hayashi
Hayashi
Joined company in 2018
Pursuing an environment to utilize the knowledge of organic synthesis
I was aiming for a research position at a pharmacy manufacturer but it was difficult in various ways. Reagent manufacturing was another option but it did not go well either. During that time, my professor introduced Azuma to me. I decided to join this company as it has the environment that allows me to utilize my skills and knowledge of organic synthesis studies at university and graduate school.
Creating synthesis methods with my own ideas
I am in charge of chemical syntheses from hundreds of milligrams to several grams. Besides low molecular weight compounds, I also deal with various kinds of chemical reactions such as polymer synthesis and metal-catalyzed reaction. Although some of the operation methods were written in the manual, sometimes I could also look for my own way of synthesis. I feel that the trial and error process from searching for the synthesis method to actual operation is very interesting.
Scaling up and learning AI as the next goal
At the university laboratory, most of the time I used glass containers which I could hold with one hand. At Azuma, I deal with the column pipes that are over 130cm long. As the equipment is expensive and it would cause huge damage if the synthesis fails, I always pay extra attention to what is in my hand during operations. In the future, I would like to gain experience for scaling up from laboratory to factory scale. Personally, I would also like to gain more knowledge and skills about AI.